LAKELAND -- The husband and wife owners of a Mulberry towing company are facing several felony charges, after the murder of a man whose brother-in-law's car got towed revealed several violations of the law governing tow trucks.
Michael and Elissa Denn's company, Strapped Towing, had a contract with the Stoll Manor Mobile Home Park in Lakeland to deal with cars parked in grass or on the street, or blocking exits. The agreement also required that several other violations, including lack of a tag and an undriveable or immobile car, receive a sticker warning.
The sheriff's office says that within a couple of days of the contract taking effect, Strapped Towing removed 19 vehicles and forced their owners to drive 17 miles to Mulberry to get them back. State law says towed vehicles can't be taken more than ten miles away in counties that have more than 500,000 residents.
One of those tows led to a homicide. Deputies say Juan Barroso-Muriel, his brother in law and sister pleading with Michael Denn not to take the brother in law's untagged car, showing a tag in hand. The agreement limited enforcement on untagged cars to violation stickers. Denn towed the vehicle anyway. When Barroso-Muriel and his brother in law went to Mulberry to get the car back, an argument led to Denn shooting Barroso-Muriel to death. Denn was charged with second-degree murder and remains in the Polk County Jail. Judd says Florida law required the tow driver to stop the tow and offer to settle for no more than half the listed amount.
Deputies continued investigating Strapped Towing and filed 19 charges against the Denns for towing outside the legal radius. They also face two charges because the truck improperly listed the company's address as "Lakeland, FL" rather than the proper street address in Mulberry.
Sheriff Grady Judd accused the mobile home park management of "not doing due diligence" and hiring what he called an "overaggressive" and "fly by night" operation, but so far they're not facing any charges.
Photos: PCSO/Canva